I pause just outside, their voices drifting over the back yard to me. “Did she tell you what happened to her knee?” Haven asks, looking over at Thayer and Court. Unaware that I’m behind them, listening.
Thayer shakes his head slowly. “Just that there was an accident.”
“She never said what though,” Haven accurately guesses. “I’m sure you assumed it was something like a car accident. But it was actually me.” I take one step forward to cut her off, to correct her. It sure as fuck wasn’t her that ruined my dream of dancing.
Both alphas glare at her, rumbling growls pulling from their chests as they clench their fists, and I realize I might need to intervene for a different reason.
Haven is unperturbed though, waving away their threatening growls, and likely the angry alpheromones wafting off of them. “It wasn’t me directly, but my dad… He was a real psycho. An abusive alpha who liked to keep me bound up as tight as he could with his commands. He forbade me from being with my pack, which I ignored because… well, they’re mine andI wanted them. They protected me, but Florence…” I close my eyes as the memories assault me, the prick of the needle in my neck, the darkness that rushed in, waking up bound to a chair. The way the sledgehammer hit my knee, shattering every one of my dreams in an instant.
Haven keeps talking. “He took her. Used her as bait to get to me. He took a hammer to her knee while recording it to really send the message home that he would kill her if I didn’t show up.”
“You went to save her?” Thayer asks like her answer matters.
Haven lets out a humorless laugh. “Of course, I did. She’s my best fucking friend, the best person I know. I went in with a gun and shot him before he could hurt her anymore. Broke through every command he ever gave me to do it, but I did.”
“He’s dead?” Courtland asks, sounding halfway to feral.
Haven meets his gaze, her grey eyes steely with determination. “He is.”
They both relax slightly, though I can still feel the anger radiating off of them. “Why did you tell us this?”
Haven slowly climbs to her feet, using their shoulders to leverage her swollen body up, brushing off the seat of her pants before she bends and places her small hands on either of their shoulders. “I told you this because Florence had two dreams in her life. To be a dancer and to find her pack. I stole one of those dreams away, shattered it with a swing of my father’s hammer. And she still loves me. I’m pretty sure she loves me more today than she did when it happened. She is without a doubt the kindest, most forgiving soul I know. If I can be the reason she lost one of her dreams and she can still love me, imagine how hard she’ll love you if you give her one of her dreams back.”
She pats their shoulders and turns toward the house, catching me standing there outside the door.
“I can’t believe you told them,” I hiss at her as she waddles closer.
She shrugs. “They deserve to know, and it’s my story to tell as much as it is yours.” She pats my cheek. “Be mad at me all you want, but you’ll see it’s for the best in the long run.”
And then she disappears into the house, leaving me with two alphas who have the ability to ruin me. They’re both on their feet, watching me with a hungry intensity that is not entirely sexual. More like they’re just drinking in the sight of me, men dying of thirst in the desert and I’m an oasis.
Too bad it’s all a mirage.
“How are you feeling?” Court asks cautiously, taking a step forward like he needs to be a little closer to me before he draws up short.
“Better,” I answer honestly and sharply. I do feel better and don’t I just resent them for it? After all, it’s only a matter of time before they leave me, abandon me again to return to the omega they chose over their fated mate.
“Did you eat?” Thayer shifts, eyes flicking in the direction of the kitchen and the massive amounts of food I found there. Are they the ones responsible for it?
I nod. “I did.”
“Good,” he all but sighs. “That’s good. What did you have?”
“Why does it matter?”
He shrugs and moves toward me, slowly like I’m a rabbit that might flee if he comes at me too fast, and honestly, I might. “Just want to make sure my omega is eating enough. That she’s getting all the nutrients she needs to help her heal.”
Goddammit. Why does that make my heart go all melty and my omega sigh in my chest? As if ensuring I’m fed is some kind of grand gesture, when really it’s just alpha biology, instinct.
My head tips back as he comes to a stop in front of me, his blue eyes running over my face. “Tell me.”
Madness.That’s what this is. The way he can unravel me with just a look and a few words. How he can send all my resolve scattering.
My tongue darts out to wet my lips. “I had a muffin.”
There’s a pause as if he expects me to say more. When I don’t, his face folds into a scowl. “That’s it? A muffin? No fruit or protein? Did you eat dinner last night?”
I scowl at him. “You know I didn’t. I was burning up with fever and passed out.”
